European Armenian Federation Denounces Turkish Pressure on European Parliament

STRASBOURG, France–Socialist and Liberal groups in the European Parliament Monday demanded to suppress the paragraph on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a precondition for Turkey’s membership in the European Union, effectively reversing the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee decision to include the provision. Under pressure from Turkey, the Socialist and Liberal groups–while being the two principal promoters of the paragraph in question during the September 4 vote in the Foreign Affairs Committee–reversed their earlier posturing by submitting an amendment, which aims to suppress the precondition, reported the European Armenian Federation, adding that such amendmen’s are not necessarily supported by the parties’ rank and file. "Turkey has imposed these amendmen’s by intimidating certain members of the two groups. Several parliamentarians close to the file have even been personally threatened" declared Hilda Tchoboian, the president of the European Armenian Federation. "Turkey, while not in Europe, is attempting to revert and direct the political line of our European representatives and is imposing its denial. The recognition of the genocide as a precondition to the adhesion was adopted in the same terms in the resolution of September 2005. We warn against this risky strategy which will offend the European nations in order "not to offend" a state which is definitively denialist." concluded Tchoboian.

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